Broken Promises
by empire14
Summary: One night, Ray sees past Kai's mask. he doesn't know what to do with the info he gets and leaves it alone. But can he and the other BladeBreakers show Kai that promises aren't ment to be broken, and can they show him...before he gets killed. No Yaoi.
1. I Promise

Hello, this little story came to me while listening to 'I'm Still Here" from the movie Treasure Planet. I started thinking about the fact his fathers left and than about unconditional love and somehow I ended up with promises and all of that endless and pointless thinking led to this two/thee-shot. Please enjoy and R&R!!!

**Disclaimer**: No, I don't own. If I would.....now than Beyblade would be a _very_ interesting show!!!!

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Ray's POV

Kai always puzzled me, even after all this time we've been friends with him, I still don't understand him fully. None of us do. That's why it's so rare to figure out one of the many secrets that surround him. And that is exactly what happened that one fateful night.

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"_Ray! Over here!!!"_

_I looked to my left to see Tyson, Max and Kenny waving at me. The park we were in was buzzing with activity, mothers playing with their children and the fathers watching over them from the side. It was a sunny day and the sky was a sea blue._

_I felt a sense of peace wash over me and I jogged over to the guys. They were grinning like crazy, even Kenny. They were sitting on the grass in the shadow of a huge oak tree. I looked at the three smiling faces and suddenly noticed something………….someone wasn't here._

"_Hey guys, where's Kai?"_

_The effect this simple question had was astonishing. The smiles dropped from their faces and were exchanged by looks of shock and…fear?  
I than noticed the air suddenly went cold and the scenery changed. The happy families vanished and were replaced by a total emptiness all around us. The tree went from a happy green to a dead grey and the grass disappeared to make place for a never ending sheet of snow. Thick white snowflakes fell from the sky which was no longer blue and peaceful but grey and depressing. The light feeling I felt was consumed by a feeling of dread, and this only strengthened as I looked at the faces in front of me. They were staring at something behind me with their mouths wide-open as if they wanted to scream but couldn't find their voices._

_I felt a shiver run down my spine and had the unnerving urge to run and leave this place.  
This urge, however, was repressed by a voice that came from behind me, a voice very familiar._

"_You p-promised."_

_It sounded broken and hurt. For a second I couldn't believe that that voice could sound so small. I couldn't believe that the person to who that voice belonged to could express so much emotion just by saying two words. But most of all, I couldn't believe that those two little words could make me want to cry._

_Needing proof before I jumped to any rash decisions I quickly turned around…..and stopped breathing._

_There, right behind me, and now, right in front of me, was Kai. But something was totally wrong. His usual pose of power and strength was gone. Instead, he looked like a gust of wind could break him to pieces. And for the first time in my life I realized that Kai was just a kid. He was just like the rest of us. Just because he always acted mature and grown-up didn't mean that was all there was to him. He was just a kid, and right now, he looked like a very hurt and very lost boy._

_His eyes, always so full of fire and determination, were now filled with pain, confusion and…hope? But as I looked at him, it slowly vanished. As I __stood there, watching him, the hope in his eyes disappeared, being replaced by betrayal._

_I now understood why I felt like crying. Because seeing Kai or any of my friends that hurt and breakable was something I never wanted to see again. Not wanting this to go on I slowly took a step forward but stopped when Kai's eyes widened in fear and he started shaking all over. I wanted to say something to make him understand I didn't mean any harm but was cut of by a scream…__his __scream._

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"_

"Kai!!"

Sitting up straight in my bed I stared at the wall on the other side of the room while waiting for my breaths to slow.  
That had been one weird dream, or nightmare?

"No……..no……..I………you promised……NO!"

With wide eyes I listened to that same voice whisper words that would be incomprehensible to any other person but were caught by my sensitive hearing.

Not understanding how I could still be dreaming I searched for the source of those pained whispers and quickly found it.

Kai was clutching his blankets in a death grip and was tossing his head around every few seconds as if trying to escape something. In the dim light of the moon filtering through a crack in the curtains I could see the sweat drops that had gathered on his brow. His expression was one of fear and confusion, nearly the same one as in my dream.

Not thinking about, well anything, I jumped out of my bed on quickly got to his. Taking hold of his shoulders I tried to shake him out of his nightmare.

" Kai! Wake up, it's just a dream…wake up Kai!!"

Unfortunately this didn't have the desired effect and his pleads and shouts only became louder, making me wonder how the rest of the hotel hadn't woken up yet.

This thought however was quickly pushed aside as Kai was now using some sort of sentences to throw at whatever was tormenting him this much.

"NO!!! Don't, you promised..I didn't do anything……….Please don't!!!!!!!"

I wanted to try to wake him up again but suddenly he went quiet. His shouting turned into soft mumbling and he stopped tossing, he had even released the blankets. This, however, didn't shock me as much as it would with any other person. What I noticed next did. His eyes were still tightly closed but that didn't prevent the tears from slipping out of the corners. The sight had me completely stunned. Kai Hiwatari….The Kai Hiwatari, was crying. Sure, he was sleeping, but still seeing him express any emotion is a wonder in itself. The fact that that emotion was sadness was, well…surprising? I had no idea how to describe it, especially since I couldn't really connect it to what he was muttering.

"Always….always break it…always hurts……..always break their promises….always…."

I stayed their, sitting on my knees next to my captain's bed for I don't know how long. But by the time I went back to my bed He had stopped crying and mumbling and looked peaceful.

The next morning nothing changed and Kai didn't act any different. I was starting to think he didn't remember his nightmare, and who knows, maybe he didn't. But I sure did. I would always remember it. I would always ponder over who he had been talking to, and why he had said they 'always break their promises'.

Little did I know, I was going to need the information, to save Kai's life.

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You want to read the rest...................than REVIEW!!!!!!!!

-xxx- empie


	2. I don't care, so why would they?

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, two chapters in two days, that has to be a personal record. And I would like to thank FlamingIce94 for reviewing!!!!!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy (**Warning**: Those of you who can't stand blood, dark thoughts and a bit of Kaitorture turn back now.)

**Disclaimer**: (see chapter one)

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**Kai's POV**

"Hey!! Where are you going?!"

Oh great, just when I think I can get some time to think, Tyson has to but in and ruin it for me. Thanks Tyson, thanks a bloody million.

Knowing the others would've heard him and sensing they were all standing behind me glaring at my back I sighed, took my hand off of the doorknob and turned around to glare back.

This time, however, they didn't back down when I shot them my famous death glare but just tried to glare back, which was fucking hilarious and it gave me the urge to smirk. But I didn't, I wanted them to think I was pissed. I found out it was a highly effective way of getting them to leave me to do as I please without having them asking questions every five minutes. So I snarled and put as much venom in my voice as I could muster, which was a lot.

"Non of your fucking business."

I could see the tone I used had them quit startled and their faces went from half angry to confused and then to irritation, of which I hated the last one. If they were irritated about something they wouldn't stop bugging me about it even if I did threaten to make them run for an entire day. They were just so stubborn sometimes, it wasn't healthy. And I should know.  
And, of course, as usual it was Ray who tried to reason with me. Although I couldn't dismiss the fact that he was the only one out of the three to sound calm and disturbingly dangerous at the same time. Must have something to do with him being a neko-jin.

"It _is_ our _fucking_ business Kai. 'Cause last time you disappeared for an entire day, came back with a broken arm and you never even told us what happened. So now, you are not going out there by yourself. You're hurt Kai, and if something happens you won't be able to defend yourself. And…we don't want you getting hurt, nor do we want to lose you………We promised we wouldn't lose you again, and we are going to keep that promise!!!!"

Throughout the entire rant I hadn't said a word, mostly because I didn't know what to say. Did he mean all that? No….he couldn't have…could he? No one ever cared about me, not even my own family. I don't even really care about myself, so why would they.  
But, he said they didn't want to lose me again, whatever that may mean. And they _promised_, they made a promise never to lose me again and they were _going to keep it_??

No, they were lying. No one, and I repeat no one has ever kept their promise, so why would they. A promise was just a sentence used to lure you in, to make you trust only to be thrown back out, hurt, betrayed and broken. A promise always let to pain, and I was sick and tired of being hurt, of feeling betrayed and of getting my hopes crushed into the ground. Promises meant _nothing_, I'd learned that the hard way a long time ago.

I looked up at them, unaware that I had lowered my gaze but determined not to fool myself again. I looked them in the eye and was startled for a moment to find those eyes were looking at me angry and upset. I couldn't see one shimmer of a lie in their eyes but quickly got those thoughts out of my head. Everyone looked like that, until they stabbed you in the back and showed their true selves. My eyes hardened again and I told Ray the truth.

"Promises mean _nothing_. They're only meant to be broken sooner or later."

I didn't wait to see their reaction to my words. I just turned around opened the door and than slammed it shut right into their faces. I didn't even think of where I was going, I just kept running. My left arm keeping a hold on my right arm to stop it from moving in its sling. I broke it last week, in the upper-arm was a clean break which meant I couldn't beyblade. But I sure as hell wasn't some sort of lost puppy. If someone tried to mess with me than they were up for a surprise. I've had broken arms and legs more times than I can count and I was forced to fight with them, so I'm sorry to disappoint you Ray, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of _myself_!!!

It wasn't until I started to feel my arm acting up that I stopped. It was also now that I noticed it had started to snow. Great. Looking around I noticed I had ran to the park, or more precisely, to the old oak tree. Walking towards it I took a seat on one of its roots and leant backwards against it. Closing my eyes I listened to my surroundings.

The soft rustle of the wind through the tree branches, the far away traffic, the squeaking of the swings in the wind and…the crunching of snow…above my _head_??!!

Without wasting time I looked up,…but wasn't fast enough. Something came falling out of the tree and landed on top of me full force. My breath was totally knocked out of me and my head hit the tree very hard making my vision swim and the sounds around me hard to understand. I knew I had to fight but somehow my movements were slow and imprecise. My legs were unable to move because of a weight pushing them down. I tried to scream but found something in my mouth was blocking the sound from coming out. In the meanwhile, my arms had somehow ended up behind my body and I felt something rough around my wrists. Rope.

Shit.

Suddenly sound came back and my vision became a lot clearer. The adrenaline rush probably had something to do with this and I started trashing around, fighting against my restraints. My right arm was screaming and the pain caused tears to come to my eyes but I didn't stop. If these people really wanted to take me back to _Biovolt_ than this pain would be nothing compared to what I was going to feel. And I would be damned if I'd ever go back to that place.

The only problem was, if a miracle didn't happen soon, they were going to win this fight. They had already bound my feet and arms and were now busy trying to wrap ropes all around me. So they knew I was 'dangerous', good. 'Cause right now, I was getting a little desperate.

So far I had only managed to break one guys nose with all of my thrashing and earned a kick to the side. But somehow, that's not where they stopped. They continued their kicking even though I had already heard two cracks coming from my ribcage and it was getting awfully hard to breath.

Ropes were now all around my legs and my upper body, rendering my totally immobile. This, however, was not really on my mind right now as the screaming of my sides, chest, arm and head were preoccupying my thoughts. The kicks ceased and I was left panting (which hurt like hell) and wondering why they were doing this out in the open instead of in one of the torture chambers back _there._

Not even two seconds later someone grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my head up. I kept my voice under control and didn't make a sound, not wanting to give these bastards the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

"Why don't you scream Kai, why don't you make a sound. 'Cause in a couple of minutes, you'll never scream again."

The voice sounded thick with pleasure and as slimy as a snake. But that was about the only things I could think of seeing as what the man had said didn't make any sense to me…….until he pulled out a knife.

My eyes widened at realization of what was going to happen….mere seconds before it actually did.

The man pulled his arm back and than plunged the knife deep into my left side.  
A scream tried to make itself known but still I was to prideful and only let out a low grunt of pain. Which I found quit impressive seeing as my side _was on __fire_!!!! The knife had ripped through my flesh and I could feel the blood gushing out of the wound as he turned the knife around while it was still embedded in my side.

This time I did scream, the feeling of a knife turning around in your side was just too much and although the sound was muffled by the gag, it was a scream nonetheless.

The man seamed pleased at this as he proceeded to slowly pull the knife back out, making me scrunch my eyes shut against the pain and bight my tong. After this agonizing moment, they left. But not until they gave me one final kick in the ribs.

The pain was clouding my mind and I could do nothing else but moan in discomfort. Although that was the understatement of the year. My head hurt like hell, my arm was screaming, my side was throbbing and burning and it was getting harder and harder to breath. As if something was blocking my airways from the inside out. But when I tasted something coppery in my mouth, I understood. One of my broken ribs probably punctured a lung causing me to bleed into my lungs seeing as my side was still a waterfall of the crimson substance.

I was wondering why everything was so clear to me, considering the fact I was dying. But I could still hear everything around me. The tree branches, the traffic and the swings. The only difference was that two sounds had joined in, my own harsh breathing and my slowly fading heartbeat. My mind was eerily clear for once, and all of these sounds could be heard. But when I closed my eyes, trying to find a place away from this pain, a voice suddenly fluttered into my brain. A sentence that somehow held some importance:

'_We promised we wouldn't lose you again, and we are going to __keep__ that promise!!!!'_

No you aren't.  
Somehow this realization caused a very known feeling to resurface. The feeling of crushed hope. But why, why did it hurt that they weren't here. Why did it hurt that they weren't going to keep their promise. I knew is was going to happen…didn't I? Yeah, I did…but I still trusted them. After all those broken promises, a part of me had still believed that they weren't like that. That they would be different and keep their promise, how stupid was that!

But that knowledge didn't ease the blow, it was still hard to come to the conclusion that even them, Ray, Tyson and Max had betrayed me. The trust I had given them had been laughed at and thrown out the window.

Than another thought came into my mind. Why was I still fighting, no one wanted me alive. No one cared, so why should I?

And so I stopped, I stopped fighting. I felt tears still slipping out from under my eyelashes and felt stupid for it. The BladeBreakers weren't worth crying over……..who am I kidding. Their friendship was all I ever had, they were the ones that saved me from myself and the only ones who could ever do it again. So yeah, losing them, the closest thing to a family I've ever had, was worth crying over. Heck, I would have died for them, which is sort of what I'm doing now, right?

Maybe yes, maybe no. But as the darkness started to claim me, and I stopped trying to take painful and useless breaths two new sounds entered my overly tired mind. One was that of snow being crunched underneath feet and the other were voices. Shouting things I couldn't make out, and why should I try, it's not like they're anyone important.

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YAHOOOO!!!!!!!! And there you have it. I think there is one more chapter to go. And remember, if you want to know what happens next, review!! Or I will never write a next chapter and Kai will die MWUAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, (ahem, maybe those chocolat bars weren't the smartest idea ever X))

-xxx- empie


	3. We don't break 'm when we make 'm!

YES!!!!! I did it. I updated and wrote three chapters in three days!!!!!!!!!!!! My own personal record!!

AAAAAAnd I would like to give a big hug to: -S _of_ JST the Power of three, Yuliya and FlamingIce94. Thanks so much for reading this you guys!!!!!

And now, the third chapterrrrrrr..........

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**Ray's POV**

"It _is_ our _fucking_ business Kai. 'Cause last time you disappeared for an entire day, came back with a broken arm and you never even told us what happened. So now, you are not going out there by yourself. You're hurt Kai, and if something happens you won't be able to defend yourself. And…we don't want you getting hurt, nor do we want to lose you………We promised we wouldn't lose you again, and we are going to keep that promise!!!!"

I was slightly surprised myself at that what I had just said, but didn't feel ashamed or anything for saying it. It was true, all of it had been true. We had been worried sick about him that day. I mean, sure he sometimes disappears for a few hours, but an entire _day_??!!! We just knew something was wrong. And just as we were about to call the police and start looking for him, he walked through the front door like nothing had happened. Which turned out to be a total lie as I found out later that night. He had bloody _broken_ his _arm_!!!!! Broken it for crying out loud!!!!!!! And, of course, he never told us how exactly he had managed to do that. Although we have the uneasy feeling someone else did it for him. And now he is expecting us to just let him wander of again, all by himself, with a broken arm.

Hell. No.

Back at the lake we had nearly lost him. And somewhere along the road we did loose him, he left the BladeBreakers and he nearly didn't come back either. Afterwards, we had promised each other (yes even Tyson promised) that we would never, _ever_ loose him again. No matter what happened.

I noticed Kai lifted his head and glared at all of us. For a moment I thought I saw some sort of surprise and confusion flicker in his eyes, but that was soon replaced by a cold and hard look. Something he had never really used on us before, and frankly, that look worried me. But not as much as the words he spoke next.

"Promises mean _nothing_. They're only meant to be broken sooner or later."

What. The. _Hell_!!! Without another word Kai turned, opened the door only to slam it shut seconds later.

The three of us just kinda stood there. Staring at the spot our captain had been mere seconds ago. And I think I speak for all three of us when I say…huh?

"What was _that_!! Of course we're going to keep our promise, what's the point in making one if you don't!!"

Tyson was the first to break the silence. And I had to agree with him. Why would Kai say that…to us of all people. He's known us for what, three to four years now, he should get the point that we're his friends and we will never promise something we can't make true.

"Why would he say that promises are only meant to be broken? How could he think that!??"

I turned to look at Max who had been the one to speak and found a couple of tears sliding down his face. He was trembling and had his hands in fists next to his sides, all in all, he looked like he was going to break down. The only thing telling me otherwise was the expression on his face. He looked upset yet determined and his eyes were staring fiercely at the door.

"I don't know Max. I really, truly have no clue."

Tyson was string at the ground looking defeated and confused. Something I'm entirely not used to. I mean, he was always the one to cheer us up and say we could do it, or something.

But suddenly, it all hit me. All the pieces of the puzzle slit into place creating a picture. A truth or knowledge I had been trying to find ever since that one night.

_**Flash**__**:**_

"_You p-promised."_

_**Flash:**_

_As I stood there, watching him, the hope in his eyes disappeared, being replaced by betrayal._

_**Flash**__**:**_

"_No……..no……..I………you promised……NO!"_

_**Flash**__**:**_

_Kai was clutching his blankets in a death grip and was tossing his head around every few seconds as if trying to escape something. In the dim light of the moon filtering through a crack in the curtains I could see the sweat drops that had gathered on his brow. His expression was one of fear and confusion, nearly the same one as in my dream._

_**Flash**__**:**_

"_NO!!! Don't, you promised..I didn't do anything……….Please don't!!!!!!!"_

_**Flash**__**:**_

"_Always….always break it…always hurts……..always break their promises….always…."_

_**Flash:**_

"_Promises mean **nothing**. They're only meant to be broken sooner or later."_

"They broke their promises…."

Although I had said that in just a whisper Max and Tyson still heard and looked at me quite confused.

"What are talking about Ray? Who?"

Tyson's gaze had now turned curious, but he also looked a little worried. But I wasn't really paying attention. My mind was still trying to work out the information, and than it clicked.

Why were we just standing here? Kai had just stormed out the door saying promises didn't mean anything while we had _promised_ to never loose him again. The only way to make Kai trust us, to make him trust the promises we made was to go find him and keep that promise. It surely wasn't a very good idea to let Kai wonder of into the night all by himself with a broken arm!  
Man, what had we been _thinking_!!!!!

I quickly dashed forward and grabbed my coat, I than threw Max's and Tyson's coat towards them opened the door and ran outside. It had started snowing, which might make it just a little bit more difficult to find our blue-haired enigma. Suddenly someone grabbed a hold of my arm and yanked on it pretty hard, making me stop mid-run. Looking back I saw Tyson staring at me like I was mentally unstable.

"Ray! What on earth are you doing? Kai's gone. No matter how hard you try to find him you won't. When Kai disappears you can't find him, no matter how much you want to."

Tyson's voice had gone a little soft towards the end and held a tone of bitterness in it. Max was standing next to him with a somewhat calculating look, as if trying to understand something but having a hard time doing so. Yet than he spoke.

"Or can you, Ray. Can you find him even though there's no clue as to where he is?"

Finally understanding why they were wasting time staring at me I shook off Tyson grip and tried to explain what had just occurred to me.

"Look guys, this might not make a whole lot of sense, but some time ago Kai had a nightmare. And he kept on screaming about the fact that people always break their promises. That's what was bugging him when I said we promised we'd never loose him again. He's not used to people keeping their promises so he thought I was lying. And that's exactly why we need to find him now. To show him that we're not lying and we don't break our promises. Because we wouldn't loose him again, right!?"

They looked at me for a second or two and than realization dawned in their eyes as they nodded. But, of course, Max still had a question.

"That may be true, but how are we supposed to find him, we have no idea as to where he might be!"

This time I just looked at Max before shaking my head.

"I might not know for sure Max, but I do have an idea. So let's go already!!"

I didn't have to say that twice for they were running and tugging on my sleeve within milliseconds. I smiled and started running ahead with the two of them right behind me. I just prayed to the gods I wasn't wrong and we'd find Kai in the park, maybe even near a big old oak tree, just like my dream.

.

After a few minutes I could see the park and immediately I looked to the right, just beyond the swings, where I knew on old oak tree would be. Why I still believed I would find him there, I don't know, but I just had to check it out to be sure, you know.

It was a full moon and that surely would make things a little easier, had a cloud not blocked it entirely. The snowing had also become less and had now almost completely stopped. This was making it easier for me to see the…_footprints_!??

My heart picked up speed and I took a couple of steps forward…and stopped. There was way to much trampled snow for only one pair of feet. Upon closer investigation I could see there were at least three or four different foot prints and they went to and from……the old oak tree?

Suddenly a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. I could hear Tyson talking behind me, something about footprints, they had probably seen what I had. But I was already walking ahead, following the footprints and than squinting my eyes to see what the weird black thing underneath the tree was, which was were the footprints lead to. This was, of course, when someone up there decided to help me and the cloud floated on exposing us to the light of the full moon, allowing me to see what I had wanted to know.

I looked…and I swear my heart stopped.

There, underneath the big old oak tree, was a boy.  
The problem was, he was tied up, and in the light of the moon I could see a whole lot of red on him and around him.

For a moment I just stood there and looked, not noticing anything around me but the boy lying there on his side, in the snow…eyes closed. I felt someone tug on my arm and somehow this managed to bring me back to reality, that and Max's horrified voice.

"Is…t-that…"

He never finished his sentence as I screamed the answer at no one in particular.

"KAAAAAAAIII!!!!!"

I sprinted towards him and dropped myself to my knees next to him, the others a few meters behind me.

"KAI!! Wake up! Don't go to sleep…Come one Kai, wake UP!!!!!"

I was shaking him by his shoulder trying to keep my own feelings at bay while looking at his emotionless and _peaceful_ face. Not seeing any signs of him waking up, I remembered some first aid training we had about two years ago.

With trembling hands I exposed his neck and felt for a pulse. After feeling a small thud underneath my fingertips I let out a shaky breath. Next on I wanted to check his breathing, and noticed he had a gag in his mouth. After carefully untying the cloth that held it in place I pulled the gag out of his mouth……..and stared horrified as a river of blood suddenly streamed out of his mouth. After a few seconds it stopped and I quickly held my hand in front of his nose and mouth, only to come to the shocking solution that he _wasn't breathing_!!!

My own breath picked up speed as I stared at the pale face in front of me, blood still dripping from the corner of Kai's mouth.

"Ray…RAY!!"

Tyson was calling me and I looked up to my right to find him standing next to me, phone in hand, tears streaming down his face. He slowly sunk to his knees and handed me the phone.

"T-they want to k-know some s-stuff."

I took the phone while still in a daze and introduced myself, having no clue at what else to do.

"Ray Kon."

"Hello. I understand there has been an accident and a boy got hurt. Could you tell me the extent of his injuries."

I was confused at first. And than it hit me. While I had been half freaking out, Tyson had been sane enough to call the alarm number. The importance of this was also thought of by my hyperactive/overworking brain, the woman on the other line could save Kai's life, and she could only do that if I told her what she needed to know.

"Uhm…yeah…He…He's hurt pretty b-bad."

Nice going Kon, that's just sooo much help. After taking a deep breath I started to describe exactly what I could see in record speed, I was surprised the woman seemed to understand.

"My friend isn't b-breathing. He's bleeding from a w-wound on his head and one on his side. That last one is really b-bad. He has a pulse but he's completely t-tied up. He had a gag in his mouth which I rem-moved and when I did a l-lot of blood came out of his m-mouth. I-I…..I don't know w-what to d-do."

I couldn't keep my voice from cracking as I described the horrible image in front of me.

"Don't worry. The ambulance should be there right…now."

And yes, she was right, I could hear the siren behind me and for a moment wondered how they could be here so quickly.

"I have to go now. You'll be okay."

Still completely baffled at recent findings I could stutter a measly 'thanks' and 'goodbye' before the line went dead and the noises from behind me became a lot clearer.

Someone took me by my shoulders and carefully pulled me backwards so someone else could take my place and start fumbling on the ropes around Kai's upper body. I looked to my right and saw both Tyson and Max sitting in the snow, eyes glazed over yet clearly fixed on Kai while tears streamed down their cheeks. After noticing that my vision was blurred as well I raised my hand and felt my own cheeks were wet as well. I couldn't remember when I had started crying, and honestly, I couldn't care less.

Turning my head back to the sight in front of me I saw they had already placed Kai on a stretcher, and were now carefully carrying him back to the ambulance. A third paramedic came to me an kneeled in front of me to look me in the eye.

"Do you know that boy?"

The question had been directed at me yet I found it extremely difficult to answer him.

"Y-Yes."

My answer was just a small whisper and I thought about how utterly lost I must look right now.

"He's our f-friend, we p-promised that w-we wouldn't l-lose him a-gain."

I didn't know why but that little statement seemed to be of the utmost importance. The man just looked at me and asked me if I wanted to ride with the ambulance to the hospital. I slowly nodded and he helped me stand.

After me, Tyson and Max were inside, the ambulance sped of, sirens wailing and lights flashing. The paramedics were busy with Kai. They had given him one of those air-mask thingies to help him breath and had hooked him to a small heart monitor which was making soft bleeping noises. That combined with the slow, barely noticeable, rising and falling of his chest were the only two things indicating Kai was alive.

One of the paramedics, an older man with graying brown hair, brown eyes and a stern look on his face was busy with the machines. The other one, a young man in his mid twenties with blond/brown hair and green eyes was trying to stop the bleeding on Kai's side. They had also put a special blanket over Kai saying something about the cold, but I wasn't really paying attention.

The only thing I could think about was the last thing Kai said to us before this whole mess had started:

"_Promises mean nothing. They're only meant to be broken sooner or later."_

I couldn't help but think that he could be right. We could loose Kai right now, and that would mean that we, too, had broken our promise. Just like all the other people who had hurt Kai before us, we would be the last ones to ever hurt him.

NO!! I couldn't think like that. Kai was going to pull through and he was going to get the point. I would not let him die, not now and not ever!!

And the three of us made a promise, one we're going to keep. And right now, I'm making a new promise. Never, and I mean never will anyone hurt my friends _**ever**_ _**again**_!!!!!

Mind made up I turned to look at the heart monitor, my gaze fixed on every flare in the flat line signaling a heart beat. I was praying to any and every god up there to keep that line flaring, to keep his heart beating, to keep Kai alive.

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Okay, yeah, so the ending was a little sappy, but I can just picture Ray with his pupils as mere slits and his anger boiling when one of his friends gets hurt, especially if said friend nearly dies when Ray has just promised....well , you know what he promised. Sheesh, I've been typing the word promise a LOT these past three days. But I hope you liked it and if you have anything to say, anything at all, please REVIEW!!!!!

P.S. And just so you know. I don't think this is the end. There will probably be another chapter, and I've been thinking about writing a prequel, to explain the whole broken arm thing, and if you want me to, I might even consider a sequel!! But you'll have to review!!

-xxx- empie


	4. Confusion leads to Understanding, huh?

WOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!! Oaky, so that took waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than expected. And I'm very, very sorry!!!! But, I do have some good news...............................this is NOT the last chapter!!!!!*dances a happy dance than sits down embarrassed* Ahem, right, why is this good news you ask. Well........I have no idea whatsoever, but, now I'm doen with my rambling and you can continue on with the story after...I've said thank you to:

FlamingIce94, marishka91, Phoenixfyre101, phoenixfalling and Chaseha-Wing!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you guys soooooooooo much!!!!!!!!

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**Kai's POV**

'_Beep……Beep……Beep……Beep……'_

What _was _that noise? What was going on? Where was I?....Was I…._dead_??? But then how could I have a consciousness, I didn't believe in god or heaven or even hell. Although I was pretty sure if I really was still thinking after I had died, I was probably in that last place. I only thought hell would be a lot scarier and _lighter_, I mean, the place was totally dark.

Okay, so maybe it was more like all I could see was a sort of orange darkness.

……

Oh crap. I really _am_ in hell!!!! What I'm seeing is probably the glow of the fires. But, where are the fires? And where is everyone else. All I could see was the orange/black emptiness.

Great, so looking isn't getting me anywhere. But the only other thing I could notice was the beeping and………_pain_??? If I wasn't mistaking, and I hardly ever was, my side was throbbing and my head felt just a little too heavy to be comfortable.

Okaaaaay, that's just plain weird. I always heard you wouldn't be able to feel anything in death. Or maybe that's my punishment, that's what _Voltaire_ (I refuse too call him my grandfather) always said anyways. Maybe he was right after all. All I'm good for is to do someone's bidding (translation: _his_ bidding), and seeing I hated doing that, all I was ever _really_ good for was getting punished. Ah well……Why am I so cool about this. Normally I'd be freaking out. Just thinking about a punishment makes me squirm…but not now………..What is going _on_!!!

'_Beep……Beep……Beep…'_

That beeping again. Why is it even there, to annoy the hell out of me?? What is it anyway? And why is my breathing so…so…._constricted_?? It feels like something's tied around my chest to keep it from moving, … rope?

Wait…….that……sounds familiar. Rope, _rope….._

Suddenly a memory flashed through my head…

'_My arms had somehow ended up behind my body and I felt something rough around my wrists. Rope.'_

The fight…the knife…they really did kill me………oh man.

But, there was something else. Something that was important…or, at least, it felt important, it _sounded_ important, and familiar.

_Sounded_?

Yeah, there was a voice…shouting…something. It sounded hurt, that wasn't good. Why wasn't that good, I didn't know, I just knew that I didn't want this voice to sound hurt.

But…that was impossible. That voice had been there, I heard it, right before I went to this dark place. And the only ones I cared about enough for me to want them to be happy, were…..the BladeBreakers.

Max…..and..Tyson. But….their voices didn't match. So….the one…who had been there…..was…..

"Ray? Are you still up?"

Ray…….he had been right there. Why….why didn't he help me. He promised….They….NO!!!

"Yeah. Wanna join?"

I felt like I was going crazy. Why did it bother me so much that they didn't save me. Why didn't I want to believe they had broken their promise. I mean, I figured out I cared about them…but..I _trusted_ them as well??!!! The knowledge I had just wasted my efforts once again was painful, very painful. It felt like my heart was being pried at by long nails, slowly tearing it down to nothing but loose strands of hurt and betrayal. Something I swore to myself wouldn't ever happen again. And that other voice. There was no mistake, Tyson. So he was there too, huh. Fine, If the-

Hold. The. Phone!!

Where the hell was I that I was seeing nothing but an orange darkness and hearing Tyson talk, and that second voice belonged to Ray…..Where the HELL was this!!!! Why the hell couldn't I see them, I couldn't even move. My body just felt like a bag of potatoes, a very, _very_ heavy one at that.

What kind of afterlife was this!???!?!?!??!?!?

I wanted to shout with all this frustration bottled up inside me. I tried opening my mouth and shouting my lungs out…but all that happened was my mouth not moving at all and a very weird and tired groan making its way out my throat. That….was unexpected.

"HEY! Did you hear that! Kai? Is that you?!!"

Ray again. Where was he? I should be able to see him…right?

"Ray, what are talking about? Kai's still…..sleeping"

TYSON!! I'm going to ki-

Okay, stop, rewind and play again. I'm _what!!!!!!_

That can't be right. Tyson, you stupid mule, I'm not sleeping. I'm dead!!!

But, if I'm dead.

.

.

.

Than why am I still in my body, feeling things and hearing things like I would if I were alive. Why is there this stupid thump in my chest and why does my chest hurt every few seconds???

"No! I'm serious, he made a sound! Come one Kai, open your eyes already…Please!"

Why did Ray sounded hurt again. Why was he talking to me like that. I was dead…wasn't I.

But, Despite all the memories, the evidence laid out in front of me was leaning more towards the 'alive' than towards the 'dead'. And what did he say…'open your eyes'……..Oh fuck…….he's joking right, he's fucking JOKING!!!

My eyes are _closed_!!!!!!

Well, that would explain the vast amount of nothing in my line of sight. I couldn't see anything because I wasn't even looking!! Nice going Hiwatari, your ability to notice everything is still there! (sometimes sarcasm works better than the truth).

Okay. So this is the test. If I can open my eyes, I'm pretty sure I'm not dead. How the hell that happened is a question for later, for now…open.

That…..was a lot harder than expected.

I had to actually put some effort in the task of opening my eyes. My eyelids just felt like two pieces of unmovable lead lying on my eyes (_why_ hadn't I noticed that 'weight' before??). But, after three or four tries light was suddenly registered by my slow working and tired mind…a whoooole lot of light. So much that I kept on blinking to get rid of the stinging in my eyes. The voices around me weren't helping my still highly confused state, but, I had figured out one thing; I wasn't dead.  
Next question; how the hell was I still alive???

But just as I was getting a little used to the light, two big blobs blocked it. Come to think of it, those blobs looked rather familiar.

"Ray…..T-Tyson……Ho-how……"

I kinda trailed of there, 'cause damn, even talking was hurting me. Not to mention the fact I sounded like an eighty-year-old smoker on a bad day.

But…my thoughts were cut short as one teeny tiny fact made its way into my head. Ray and Tyson, were now half on and half off of me, had their arms around me, and were _hugging_…_me_!!!!

Something close to a gasp left my mouth as I was momentarily paralyzed. I was coming up totally blank as to how to handle this. People usually hugged you when they wanted to show affection or to 'fool around with friends'. And somehow, I couldn't wrap my head around either of those ideas, they let me go, they didn't come looking for me, so _why_ were they hugging me??? I mean, they didn't care, they broke their promise, just like everyone always did…right?!?!

Than, I could hear muttering, words…sentences. They became clearer and the weight went away. Somehow, this left me feeling……_empty_.

I realized someone was still talking and what they were saying sounded vaguely familiar. They couldn't be..talking…..about……… huh???

"… and she asked me what was going on and I told her and than the ambulance showed up and they put you in and we went with them and you were bleeding really bad and you weren't conscious and all I could think about was what you said before you left and how I really wanted to prove you wrong and than at the hospital we had to wait really long and we couldn't stop worrying and crying and when she said you were stable I felt so relieved but when she said it was a question if you'd wake up all that joy was gone and you've been sleeping for two weeks and I've never been so sacred before in my life……god damned Kai I thought you were going to die!!!!!"

I was still staring at Ray trying to process some of the information I did actually hear throughout his rant. What I understood, however, confused me.

They were with me in the ambulance??? Wait…but that would mean…….they'd been there?? Why!??!

As I looked from Ray to Tyson and back I noticed them staring at me as if they expected me to say something.

I decided to ask the one thing that was confusing me completely.

"Y-you were t-there?"

"Do you mean the park?" Ray asked me with a hint of confusion shining in his eyes.

Still a little dazed and not quite getting the confusion I just nodded.

"Yeah, we were there Kai. And you have Ray to thank for that. I mean, we all wanted to find you but Max and I had no idea of where you could be. Ray was the one who lead us to the park…….to you."

I could see tears in Tyson's eyes as he got to the end of his little explanation.

"Wait! Max!! I promised I would wake him up if something changed. I'll be right back."

That last part had been directed at both Ray and me and Tyson quickly dashed out of the room, to go get Max no doubt.

But one little word he had said made me feel angry and upset again. Damn, I hated painkillers, they always made your mind fuzzy and it was harder to put up a mask. They also made it impossible so repress feelings which was why Ray was now looking at me, and I mean _looking_ at me. I felt like he could read my mind or something, and for the first time ever, I wish he could.

'Cause, even thought I know promises are meant to broken, it still hurt to be 'betrayed' by people you trusted. It still stung to know that even my friends made a promise and broke it, to know they didn't care.

.

.

* * *

_**FRIENDS!!!????**_

Where the fuck did _that_ come from???

.

.

And that's when I understood. I finally got why it stung so bad.

I still cared.

No matter what they would do, what they would say, I had let them into my heart and now…they'd never go again. I will always care about them. I was furious and hurt, but I still cared. And that stung…real bad.

"I think I sorta get it Kai, but there are some things you'll have to help me with, I don't get all of it."

I blinked and felt something wet roll over my cheek. I inwardly cursed as I made the connection and figured that that had just been a tear. And somehow, Ray looked alarmed because of it.

"Kai?! I…" Ray sighed and suddenly looked beat. "I hope we're not too late, but…I mean, I know we were almost too late. But…I hope…that you get it now. We came after you, because we promised we wouldn't loose you. And when we found you…I…..All I could think about was what you had said right before you left. And…and all I wanted, the only thing I prayed for was…for you…t-to wake up a-and stay."

I felt my eyes sting at the enormously hurt tone Ray was using, I was also a little baffled at to why Ray had tears slowly making their way down his cheeks. I followed them until the dripped off of his chin and onto the sheets. My gaze then went back up and I looked Ray in the eyes yet again. He had now quickly brushed a few more tears away and stared at me with a determined gaze.

"I know we hurt you…I can see it in your eyes. But you have to understand that we didn't mean to. We never wanted to hurt you and we just wanted you to be our friend. Because whether you like it or not, that's just the way it is. You're our friend and nothing's ever going to change that!"

I was still staring at Ray slowly becoming aware of the fact my mouth was open, and so I quickly closed it. I didn't know what to say anyway.

They actually came for _me_??!! They found me and saved me?!!! But…..I…….They…….

.

.

.

…..I'm confused……

.

But….if they came to find me than that would explain why I heard Ray just before I blacked out. If they really had been there, and saved me, than that would finally explain _how_ I could still be alive.

.

As Ray was still looking at me pieces of the puzzle started to come together. Everything added up. All the things he had just said were true, or at least, the part about the accident.

But, if that was true than…the other part was true as well…right?!

.

.

Holy mother of hell.

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Soooooooooooooooooooooooo whatdy'a think *uses big brown puppy eyes* I know it's not one of my best and it was more a filler than anything else, but please...REVIEW!!!!!!

-xxx- empie


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